Author/Illustrator: Lauren Child
Year: 2006
Reading Age: 4-8
Series: Charlie and Lola
Plot Summary: Charlie has this little sister Lola...she is small and very funny. (I love that intro) Lola gets extremely excited when they have a snowfall and they spend the day outside reveling in the white stuff. Unfortunately it melts the next day and Lola bemoans the sudden lack of snow, which is her favorite and her best. Luckily Charlie is around to put snow in perspective and show Lola that a variety of weather is best.
My Rating: B+. I love this show so I thought I would love the books. And I did like this book, but I felt a little jipped when I was looking through the front pages and saw that the text and illustrations are from an episode. Still...Charlie and Lola!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Dinosaurs
Authors/Illustrators: Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart
Year: 2005
Age Level: 4-12
Plot Summary: What could have been a kind of dry book on dinosaurs is turned into a visual spectacular with the addition of more than 30 pop ups. The book also includes facts on different dinosaur species and a brief overview of the history of paleontology. Younger readers will enjoy the book for the impressive images (especially the t-rex head) while older readers will also enjoy the dinosaurs facts.
My Rating: A-. Who would not have fun with this book? Honestly, I could have cared less about what the words were--I was really just reading it for the dinosaur pop ups. My one complaint is how (kind of necessarily) the text is a little shoehorned in, squeezing in between all the pop ups. Also, some of the pop ups are *so* intricate it's almost hard to visualize the dinosaur, with all the different paper joints and such. Still...definitely worth a read. Or a look.
Year: 2005
Age Level: 4-12
Plot Summary: What could have been a kind of dry book on dinosaurs is turned into a visual spectacular with the addition of more than 30 pop ups. The book also includes facts on different dinosaur species and a brief overview of the history of paleontology. Younger readers will enjoy the book for the impressive images (especially the t-rex head) while older readers will also enjoy the dinosaurs facts.
My Rating: A-. Who would not have fun with this book? Honestly, I could have cared less about what the words were--I was really just reading it for the dinosaur pop ups. My one complaint is how (kind of necessarily) the text is a little shoehorned in, squeezing in between all the pop ups. Also, some of the pop ups are *so* intricate it's almost hard to visualize the dinosaur, with all the different paper joints and such. Still...definitely worth a read. Or a look.
How to Find Flower Fairies
Author/Illustrator: Cicely Mary Barker
Paper Engineer: Richard Ferguson
Year: 2007
Age Level: 4-8
Plot Summary: This is a handy guide to fairies and where to find them. Five different habitats are explained--the wayside, gardens, forest floors, tree tops and marshes--with plenty of tricks and tips to finding fairies. Oh, and did I mention its a pop-up book?
My Rating: A+. This book is so much fun! I know I would have been in complete awe of it as a wee thing. But really, it's so much fun to look at it. Besides the elaborate pop-up on each page, there are little miniature books on each page and plenty of flaps to look under. Also, even though the pop-ups are elaborate and beautiful, they don't seem as delicate as those in a Robert Sabuda book. This may be my favorite pop-up book.
Paper Engineer: Richard Ferguson
Year: 2007
Age Level: 4-8
Plot Summary: This is a handy guide to fairies and where to find them. Five different habitats are explained--the wayside, gardens, forest floors, tree tops and marshes--with plenty of tricks and tips to finding fairies. Oh, and did I mention its a pop-up book?
My Rating: A+. This book is so much fun! I know I would have been in complete awe of it as a wee thing. But really, it's so much fun to look at it. Besides the elaborate pop-up on each page, there are little miniature books on each page and plenty of flaps to look under. Also, even though the pop-ups are elaborate and beautiful, they don't seem as delicate as those in a Robert Sabuda book. This may be my favorite pop-up book.
The Seven Dwarfs
Author/Illustrator: Etienne Delessert
Year: 2001
Age Level: 4-8
Plot Summary: This unique version of the Grimm Brothers' Snow White tale focuses on the seven dwarfs. It also tells the story as a flashback, after the dwarfs have gathered at the castle for Snow White's wedding. Narrated by one of the dwarfs, this book offers a different, quirkier perspective on a familar story.
My Rating: C+. This book was weird and the illustrations were weird and it was all weird. Really, I don't know why a kid would pick this book up and read it. The illustrations were strange and there was too much text and it was boring. Fail!
Year: 2001
Age Level: 4-8
Plot Summary: This unique version of the Grimm Brothers' Snow White tale focuses on the seven dwarfs. It also tells the story as a flashback, after the dwarfs have gathered at the castle for Snow White's wedding. Narrated by one of the dwarfs, this book offers a different, quirkier perspective on a familar story.
My Rating: C+. This book was weird and the illustrations were weird and it was all weird. Really, I don't know why a kid would pick this book up and read it. The illustrations were strange and there was too much text and it was boring. Fail!
Bee-Bim Bop!
Author: Linda Sue Park
Illustrator: Ho Baek Lee
Year: 2005
Age Level: 4-8
Plot Summary: A little girl is very excited about having the Korean dish bee-bim bop for dinner. She helps with buying the groceries and putting the meal together. In the end, she and her family eat bee-bim bop together.
My Rating: A-. This was fun to read. Very simple but lively and entertaining. My favorite part was the instructions for making bee-bim bop...it made me want to go to the grocery story and make it myself.
Illustrator: Ho Baek Lee
Year: 2005
Age Level: 4-8
Plot Summary: A little girl is very excited about having the Korean dish bee-bim bop for dinner. She helps with buying the groceries and putting the meal together. In the end, she and her family eat bee-bim bop together.
My Rating: A-. This was fun to read. Very simple but lively and entertaining. My favorite part was the instructions for making bee-bim bop...it made me want to go to the grocery story and make it myself.
The Ugly Vegetables
Author/Illustrator: Grace Lin
Year: 1999
Age Level: 4-8
Plot Summary: A little girl watches her neighbors plant beautiful flower gardens and is confused when her mother's garden is full of only strange, ugly plants. She wishes that her mother would plant a flower garden but her mother insists their plants are "better than flowers." Finally the vegetables are harvested and made into a delicious soup that they share with all their neighbors.
My Rating: A. This was a good, unique story with a good execution. It was simply told and easy to follow but also fun to read with a good resolution.
Year: 1999
Age Level: 4-8
Plot Summary: A little girl watches her neighbors plant beautiful flower gardens and is confused when her mother's garden is full of only strange, ugly plants. She wishes that her mother would plant a flower garden but her mother insists their plants are "better than flowers." Finally the vegetables are harvested and made into a delicious soup that they share with all their neighbors.
My Rating: A. This was a good, unique story with a good execution. It was simply told and easy to follow but also fun to read with a good resolution.
Pizza for the Queen
Author: Nancy Castaldo
Illustrator: Melisande Potter
Year: 2005:
Age Level: 4-8
Plot Summary: It's 1889 and Raffaele Esposito makes the best pizza in Naples, Italy. One day Queen Margherita asks him to make a pizza for her and Raffaele can't decide which kind she would like best. In then end he creates the Margherita pizza in this factual story.
My Rating: B. This book made me want a good pizza really badly. Besides that, it was just okay. The illustrations did the job, and the text was all right. The font was kind of harder to read though, and it had kind of jumbled effect overall.
Illustrator: Melisande Potter
Year: 2005:
Age Level: 4-8
Plot Summary: It's 1889 and Raffaele Esposito makes the best pizza in Naples, Italy. One day Queen Margherita asks him to make a pizza for her and Raffaele can't decide which kind she would like best. In then end he creates the Margherita pizza in this factual story.
My Rating: B. This book made me want a good pizza really badly. Besides that, it was just okay. The illustrations did the job, and the text was all right. The font was kind of harder to read though, and it had kind of jumbled effect overall.
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